(Minghui.org) A Foshan City, Guangdong Province resident was released on August 6, 2022, after enduring four years of constant torture for practicing Falun Gong.
Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual discipline that has been persecuted by the Chinese communist regime since 1999.
Ms. Hu, a 54-year-old former accountant, was arrested on August 7, 2018, for giving a Falun Gong booklet to a student. She was sentenced to four years by the Shunde District Court and taken to the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison on December 19, 2019.
Because Ms. Hu refused to plead guilty to practicing Falun Gong, the guards often deprived her of sleep, starved her, and denied her restroom use, sometimes for up to a week. While starving her, they also tortured her by prying open her mouth with a big metal spoon and force-feeding her. Sometimes they poured cold water onto her, forced her to sit for hours without moving, and spread chili oil into her eyes. The torture cycle repeated every few months.
In the winter, they forced her to stand facing an open window wearing a thin layer of clothes. In the summer, she was once not allowed to take showers or change clothes for three weeks.
Ms. Hu was introduced to Falun Gong in September 2004. She was drawn to its teachings and found hope for life. Her hyperthyroidism, vertigo, and severe cervical hyperplasia soon disappeared.
Because of telling people about Falun Gong, she has been arrested multiple times, given one year of forced labor, and sentenced three times to three, two and a half, and four years respectively. Her latest arrest in August 2018 came only three months after she finished serving the previous prison term.
Even after she was released, the authorities continued to monitor her daily life and harass her. The persecution caused tremendous pressure to her workplace and family. Her husband was forced to divorce her to avoid being implicated.
Ms. Hu was first arrested on October 4, 2006, for distributing Falun Gong materials. In the middle of the night, ten officers raided her home, confiscating her Falun Gong books, materials, computer, and cellphone.
As her husband was working out of town, her son, a little boy who was home by himself, was deeply terrified. He held onto the computer, crying and begging the police not to take it away, but to no avail.
The police soon took Ms. Hu to the Shunde District Detention Center and denied her family visits. She held a hunger strike to protest. The guard began to force-feed her a week later.
Ms. Hu was given one year at the Sanshui Women’s Forced Labor Camp on November 3, 2006. She was held in isolation and monitored by the inmates around the clock. From time to time, the inmates forced her to stand or sit on a small stool without moving for long hours. In the summer, they refused to turn on the fan in the room without air conditioning. She wasn’t allowed to sleep until after midnight. Her term was extended for two months because she didn’t renounce Falun Gong.
Ms. Hu’s next arrest was on September 6, 2010, after she was found to have Falun Gong materials in her bag. The police forcibly collected her fingerprints and confiscated her Falun Gong books, materials, and computer storage disks. She was sentenced to three years by the Shunde District Court and taken to the Guangdong Province Women’s Prison on July 8, 2011.
Ms. Hu was subjected to strict management in the prison. She was deprived of sleep, with the longest duration being four days, not allowed to use the restroom, and forced to stand all night. Once she sat down due to excessive fatigue. The inmates beat her and pulled off handfuls of her hair. They threatened to pull off all of her hair. The guards also ordered her to take unknown drugs. When she refused to comply, they pried open her mouth and force-fed her.
Ms. Hu was arrested again on July 31, 2015, and detained for 15 days for distributing Falun Gong materials. Only four months later on November 12, she was arrested one more time for filing a criminal complaint against Jiang Zemin, the former head of the communist regime who ordered the persecution. The Shunde District Court sentenced her to 2.5 years in April 2017.
Ms. Hu’s latest arrest was on August 8, 2018. She was sentenced to four years by the Shunde District Court in November 2019.
Once Incarcerated for 6.5 Years, Guangdong Woman Given Another Four Years for Her Faith